Convenience outlet



Aug. 21, 1934. SLADE 1,971,019

CONVENIENCE OUTLET Filed Aug. 15, 1929 I z l/EV ENTOR I Patented Aug.21, 1934 hung-Me an.

CONVENIENCE OUTLET Harold E. Slade, Glen Ridge, N. ,1, assignor toBeaver Manufacturing Company, Newark, -N. J., a corporation of'NewJersey Application Augnst l5, 1929, Serial No. 386,007

2 Claims. (Cl. 173-338) 5 prongs of plugs which are connected to the twowires of a cord conductor for the easy insertion of a branch line orcircuit into a main line, the cord conductors of which are connected tocontact clips or clip terminals of the socket.

In such sockets of one type now in wide use,

the socket body has spring contacts placed in plug prong apertureslocated at opposite sides of the central axis of the body, a cap orcover at the bottom or inner face of the body which holds ;the contactsin position and is itself secured to the body by a screw or bolt passingthrough a central opening in the body and cover, or otherwise, andcord-conductor grooves or channels at the base of the body and atopposite sides thereof and so arranged that the individual conductorwires are diverged within the body, passing at opposite sides of thecentral axis and being connected to terminals or clips on the contactsarranged at opposite sides of the body axis.

,5 A disadvantage of this arrangement is that there is considerableliability to short-circuiting of the conductors if they are accidentallydisplaced, on account of the stated arrangement with the conductors andespecially of parts there- '3 of which have to be stripped of insulationin connecting them to the contacts.

To avoid this difiiculty or disadvantage, and to provide an improvedsocket or outlet fitting of the stated class, I provide a plug body inwhich 5 a conductor'groove or grooves, or channels, are

provided passing through the body at only one side of the central axisand so arranged that the individual wires are connected to the terminalslocated as in previous practice. By this construction or arrangement,the stripped portions of the wires are more eiiectively separated andthe liability to short-circuiting is reduced to a minimum.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are furthersufficiently explained in con- I nection with the following detaildescription of the accompanying drawing, which shows representativeembodiments. After considering these examples, skilled persons willunderstand that 11131137 variations may be made without departing fromthe principles disclosed, and I contemplate the employment of anystructures that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a socket embodying 551 the invention inone form.

Fig. 2 is asection at 55, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section at 6-6, Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of another modification.

Fig. tion.

Fig. 6 is a section at 9-9, Fig. 5. v

Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of still another modification.

Figs. 1 to 3 show a socket in which the contact members 10 have springor clip terminals 110.. The body 1 has at one side of its axis a wirerecess 18 and communicating with this are two conductor-receivingnotches 19 arranged in spaced relation at one side of the body. Thisarrangement provides for convenient continuous wiring such as referredto above. The insulation of the continuous conductor 12 is stripped awayto permit separation of the individual wires, and at appropriate pointsthe insulation is stripped off, and the wires connected to the clipterminals as shown. In this arrangement, it will be noted that the baredportions of he wires are separated longitudinally when the Wires areparallel, that is, that they are at different longitudinal positions onthe wires, and therefore there is a greatly reduced liability or risksof these bared portions coming together and causin a short-circuit.

In any of the structures shown, the cover-piece may serve to retain thecontact members 9 in position, and in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 andother forms employing spring or clip terminals, the cover-piece may alsoserve to retain the wires in proper engagement with the terminals. Thus,in Figs. 1 to 3, the cover is in the form of a cap 25 which may besecured by a central screw 26 which as shown is a machine screwcooperating 5 is a front elevation of another modificawith a nut 27, ora wood screw maybe used as in V the previous example when the device isto be secured to a base board or the like. Otherwise, the cover may beheld to the body by screws 28 at opposite sides of the axis, thesepassing through holes in the cap and engaging in threaded holes in thebody 1 or in metal thimbles 29 inserted therein.

Fig. 4 shows anothermodification in which the notches 30 to receive thecord or cabled conductor are formed oppositely, in line with the contactterminals, and the wire recess 31 is formed at only one side of the axisand at one side of the terminals, providing for running the individualwires through the socket atone side of its axis and at the same side ofboth of the terwires to the spring or clip terminals in the mannersufiiciently explained by the drawing.

Figs. 5 and 6 sufiiciently explain a mode of continuous wiring of amodified form of structure. In this instance, the notches or recesses inthe body to receive the cabled conductors may be wide enough toreceive-two adjacently arranged portions of the cable or twisted cord,while the individual wires are separated and connected to the clipterminals as shown in Fig. '7; and in this case, also, it will be notedthat if either of the double wires be torn from its connection byexternal tension on the flexible cable causing the apertures, said bodyhaving in the outer wall insulated conductor wires tobecome: adjacentone to the other, the bared portion ofrthe-wires will remain separatedlongitudinally and mutual contact or short-circuiting is entirelyprevented.

I claim:

1. An electric fitting of the through-cordtype comprising a body havingplug prong apertures at opposite sides of. its axis, contact members inthe apertures, said body having only one conductor channel extending atone side only of a cross axialline through the center of said contactthereof cord openings substantially symmetrically disposed relative to across axial line extending at right angles to said first mentioned crossaxial line,'said openings being in communication with said channel.

HAROLD SLADE.

